Admissions

Join our nurturing community and give your child a joyful, engaging start to learning.

We welcome families to become part of our vibrant Santa Monica community. Our admissions process is designed to be simple, transparent, and supportive, helping you understand program options, schedules, and tuition. Whether you are enrolling your toddler, preschooler, or pre-K student, we are here to guide you every step of the way.

Checklist

Our Process

Enrollment Considerations & Admissions Criteria

There are a variety of factors that contribute to our decision-making process in the enrollment of new families. These include gender and age of the child, whether the child is a sibling of a currently enrolled student or is a legacy (sibling of an alum), and the desire to create a diverse community consisting of parents who share our educational values and beliefs about early childhood. There is not one single factor that determines whether a family is offered a space, but rather, it is a blend of the factors stated above. Cassidy faculty and staff reserve the right to accept or deny admission to any family other than for reasons protected by law. Children are considered to have sibling status only when a sibling is currently enrolled. Siblings of alums will be given preference if possible but cannot be guaranteed a space. Toilet training is not required for enrollment.

We wholeheartedly embrace the principles of diversity and inclusion. We warmly welcome families and staff representing a variety of races, ethnicities, cultures, religions, socio-economic statuses, gender identity, sexual preference, abilities, and neurological diversity.

We support the value of inclusion – the right of all children, regardless of their diverse abilities, to participate actively in natural settings with their peers. This means that we welcome children with special needs who meet the admissions criteria as stated above, provided that parents and school agree on what kind of support the child needs to get the most out of the program (i.e. a behavioral interventionist to assist the child while at school).

Congratulations to Our Graduating Families!

We are so proud of our families and students as they take this exciting next step in their educational journey. Congratulations to all who placed in the following schools for the 2026–2027 school year:

  • Brawerman School
  • Brentwood School
  • Carlthorp School
  • Crossroads School
  • John Thomas Dye School
  • Mirman School
  • PS1 Pluralistic School
  • Seven Arrows Elementary
  • The Center for Early Education
  • The Willows Community School
  • Village School
  • Westside Neighborhood School
  • Wildwood School

We also want to extend a warm congratulations to all of our families joining public schools. We are so proud of everyone and excited for what lies ahead.

A heartfelt thank you as well to our dedicated teachers, whose care helped prepare each child for this milestone. We are so grateful for the role you play in shaping confident, capable learners.

We can’t wait to see all that our graduates will accomplish!

Warmly,
Teru Kurita
Director, Cassidy Preschool